---
title: "Biofuels Processing Technician"
description: "Calculate, measure, load, mix, and process refined feedstock with additives in fermentation or reaction process vessels and monitor production process.…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/biofuels-processing-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Biofuels Processing Technician

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-8099 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-8099.01

Calculate, measure, load, mix, and process refined feedstock with additives in fermentation or reaction process vessels and monitor production process. Perform, and keep records of, plant maintenance, repairs, and safety inspections.

Also advertised as: Biofuels Processing Technician; Board Operator; Chemical Operator; Ethanol Operator; Mash Preparatory Operator; Process Operator; Process Technician; Production Operator.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $62,470 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $30.03/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $40,700 to $94,560, with the middle half between $48,900 and $78,480
- **Total US employment:** 14,080
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +2.3% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 1,200 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 49/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 14,080 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $40,700 |
| 25th | $48,900 |
| 50th (median) | $62,470 |
| 75th | $78,480 |
| 90th | $94,560 |
| Mean (average) | $65,700 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MA | $120,660 | $114,092 | 40 |
| WA | $88,730 | $82,915 | 190 |
| MN | $88,290 | $89,525 | 200 |
| MD | $81,890 | $78,021 | 270 |
| MT | $81,340 | $85,942 | 170 |
| NV | $80,000 | $80,017 | 150 |
| CA | $78,020 | $70,466 | 1,560 |
| IL | $77,780 | $77,813 | 230 |
| IA | $75,800 | $86,370 | 50 |
| NY | $74,700 | $69,217 | 310 |
| OK | $74,240 | $84,514 | 80 |
| KS | $74,190 | $82,371 | 60 |
| OR | $71,900 | $69,562 | 140 |
| WV | $70,660 | $78,952 | 120 |
| IN | $70,490 | $75,529 | 280 |

30 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 45 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/biofuels-processing-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/biofuels-processing-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 14,300 in the 2025–2035 base year to 14,600 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 300 jobs, or +2.3%. Slower than average: 2.3% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 1,200 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 71.2% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 18.1% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 5.7% |
| Some College Courses | 3.2% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 1.9% |

## What the work involves

- Operate valves, pumps, engines, or generators to control and adjust biofuels production.
- Clean biofuels processing work area, ensuring compliance with safety regulations.
- Inspect biofuels plant or processing equipment regularly, recording or reporting damage and mechanical problems.
- Monitor and record biofuels processing data.
- Collect biofuels samples and perform routine laboratory tests or analyses to assess biofuels quality.
- Monitor stored biofuels products or secondary by-products until reused or transferred to users.
- Monitor batch, continuous flow, or hybrid biofuels production processes.
- Monitor and record flow meter performance.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Science — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Instructing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Production and Processing — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Chemistry — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speech Recognition — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 5.87 |
| C — Conventional | 5.33 |
| I — Investigative | 3.28 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.13 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |
| S — Social | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 91.5 |
| ISTP | 81.5 |
| ESTJ | 75.0 |
| ISFJ | 71.8 |
| INTJ | 67.5 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Biomass Plant Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/biomass-plant-technician) — median $102,040
- [Chemical Plant and System Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chemical-plant-and-system-operator) — median $78,120
- [Petroleum Pump System Operator, Refinery Operator, and Gauger](https://nuecareer.com/careers/petroleum-pump-system-operator-refinery-operator-and-gauger) — median $96,710
- [Power Plant Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/power-plant-operator) — median $102,040
- [Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/water-and-wastewater-treatment-plant-and-system-operator) — median $60,020
- [Gas Plant Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/gas-plant-operator) — median $87,820
- [Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/separating-filtering-clarifying-precipitating-and-still-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $51,610
- [Hydroelectric Plant Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hydroelectric-plant-technician) — median $102,040
- [Chemical Equipment Operator and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chemical-equipment-operator-and-tender) — median $58,040
- [Geothermal Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geothermal-technician) — median $49,230

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/biofuels-processing-technician